


that which we destroy

by sinequanon



Series: tiny bleach [6]
Category: Bleach
Genre: Alternate Universe, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Gen, Temporary Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-01
Updated: 2017-11-01
Packaged: 2019-01-27 12:29:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,112
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12581924
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sinequanon/pseuds/sinequanon
Summary: It’s funny, really, the way that Soul Society has come to count on a group of human teenagers to help get them out of trouble. But what if it was the teenagers who needed rescuing, and the Shinigami had no idea how to save them?





	that which we destroy

**Author's Note:**

> Here, have some Halloween-inspired weirdness. There is no other explanation. Or answers, really.

Tis safer to be that which we destroy, Than by destruction dwell in doubtful joy. --William Shakespeare's _Macbeth_

<> <> <> <>

Kisuke heard the hundredth (thousandth) thud in the back of his mind and forced himself to take a breath. He would do the children no good letting himself fall apart as Isshin and Rukia had. Even Ishida Ryuuken had eventually crumbled after his son’s dozenth or so untimely death. Neither Chad nor Orihime had adult guardians, but Kisuke and the rest of them still felt their pains just as keenly as those of the others in the group.

Shinji and the other Visored had practically moved in with him to help find a way to break the spell, as well as to be nearby in case Isshin did something drastic. Kisuke was getting missives multiple times a day from both Soul Society and the remaining Espada in Hueco Mundo, asking for updates or offering to help, but there was little they could do until Kisuke figured out exactly what was happening.

The whole thing made little sense: every so often, one of the group--Ichigo, Chad, Orihime, or Uryuu--would be killed, usually in a painful and graphic way. Within twenty-four hours of the first death, the rest would perish as well. Forty-eight hours after that, they were all alive and well again, ignorant of their previous deaths.

There was no discernible pattern to the frequency or method of the accidents. It didn't matter if they went to school or stayed home all day, if they were in Seireitei or Las Noches. Each of them had been cut down at least once in the presence of a captain, and sometimes their other human friends.

The only good thing about the situation was that the rest of Karakura seemed to forget the deaths following the resurrections, just like the children themselves, so at least there wasn't a panic (among the human population, at least) every time Ichigo and the others came back to life.

The substitute Shinigami had been the first to die this last time around, run over by an out-of-control car less than a minute after stepping out of Urahara Shoten. Kisuke could do little more than stare in shock as Yoruichi had run out into the road to check on the boy, Tessai on her heels. Ichigo, mercifully, had been killed instantly, but the sounds of screeching tires and Ichigo's body hitting the ground had replayed themselves on a loop in his brain ever since.

Kisuke blew out another breath. No one had any idea how to solve the problem because no one knew what had _caused_ the problem in the first place. If someone new was targeting the three worlds, they had yet to reveal themselves, and it made little sense to concentrate solely on a small group of human children. If someone was specifically targeting Ichigo and his friends, why were they resurrected at all, and with no memories of their prior deaths? If whoever was doing this wanted the children to suffer (beyond their actual deaths), why couldn't they recall the pain and suffering they had endured?

The children, naturally, had not taken well to being coddled, and--after one particular week of sideways glances at the Shinigami and Arrancar following them everywhere with varying degrees of success--had finally cornered their shadows to find out what was going on. Hours later, Rukia and Renji watched in horror as the Kurosaki house exploded, trapping all three Kurosaki siblings and Chad inside as it burned.

Rukia had to be taken off of “human duty” after that. The next time around, Starrk and Lilynette had explained the situation to Ichigo and Uryuu and had to watch as everyone died hours later.

No one tried explaining things to the children a third time.

Almost a year later, more than one adult was barely holding on to sanity, and Kisuke was desperate to find a solution. No one had said anything, but everyone could feel the oppressive dread that kept building in the air. Whatever had brought this on, they were running out of time to fix it.

Eventually, they would all stop dying. Permanently.

Who knew what would happen to them after that? At this point, there was no guarantee that any of them would go to Soul Society, and no one wanted to risk losing them completely.

Even Kyouraku was worried enough that he’d almost completely stopped drinking.

 _Not that it mattered_ , Kisuke thought bitterly as he forced himself to not hurl his latest experiment across the room. Everyone was counting on him to fix things, and the weight of everyone's expectations was nearly crushing.

“Aren't you going to save them?”

The former captain whirled around to see what looked like a indigo-haired child sitting on his counter. She giggled at him and drummed her feet against the cabinets.

“Who are you?”

“My name doesn't matter,” the girl assured them. “Haven't you learned anything yet?”

“What have you done to Ichigo and the others?” he asked, a bit desperately. Normally, he would have been more careful about fishing for information, but at this point, he didn't care what he had to do for answers as long as he found them.

“I don't know how you expect to defeat my masters if you can't even work together to save the young ones.” She tilted her head, as if listening to something, and added, “I suppose we should give you one more chance. After all, you're not going to be any fun to play with if the children aren't around.”

She grinned and hopped down from the counter; she started to dissipate before her feet even touched the floor.

Kisuke opened his mouth to ask one last question, only to be distracted by Ichigo's voice coming from right outside his lab.

“Geta-boushi, are you in here? Ururu will be upset if you don't come out for dinner!”

The teenager appeared a moment later, but a quick glance showed that the girl was already gone. By the time he turned back, his student was frowning at him.

“Are you okay, Kisuke?”

“Of course,” he answered. He plastered a smile on his face even as he tried to usher the boy out the door. “You said something about dinner?”

Ichigo moved as if to follow his mentor's instructions, but paused instead. “Whatever you're working on, you’ll let me know if you need help, right? Or Shinji, or somebody?”

_Haven't you learned anything yet? I don't know how you expect to win if you can't even work together to save the young ones._

“Kisuke?”

“Don’t worry about me, Ichigo. I'll figure it out.”

He had to.

**Author's Note:**

> For those interested, the final two fics in my longer series will be out before the end of the year, though I can’t get more specific than that.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


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